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Permalink Reply by Gary Stuart on February 19, 2008 at 11:23am

That's very interesting, Linda. Was her ranking based on tournament earnings only? I wonder what her earning potential is amongst advertisers? Given that she is one of the best known names in the equestrian world, I would have thought that there would be huge advertising potential there.

I guess equestrian riding will never be like NASCAR. Could you image colourful advertising stickers plastered all over the horses (actually, it might be better not to imagine that)? Interestingly, the NHL is currently considering whether to allow advertising on hockey sweaters (similar to soccer - see David Beckham's jersey). You never know!

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Permalink Reply by Linda Weldon on February 19, 2008 at 12:25pm

Hi Gary,
The article didn't say, but I would assume her ranking was based on her personal worth which would include tournament earnings and her successful clothing line, endorsements, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Linda Weldon on February 19, 2008 at 1:23pm

Well the jumper riders do a fair bit of advertising their sponsors on the coats, shirt collars and saddle pads. Maybe if dressage were to do the same they would get more sponsors! lol!
It might clash with the 'bling' however!

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Permalink Reply by Kath Stoney on February 21, 2008 at 3:55pm

In the UK only showjumping and racing earning big money. In affiliated dressage you are lucky to cover the diesel bill even if you win a class. I think TV is the key - if dressage in the UK got good TV coverage then events would be able to pay serious prize money. Perhaps this is something for British Dressage to look at.
Kath

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Permalink Reply by Chris - resident queen of shops on March 18, 2008 at 12:58pm

I think that even in Europe, very few riders are earning more than the basic running costs for themselves & their horses. Anky is in a fairly unique position with her very sucessful clothing line & the fact that she is such a media personality.

She is also a very smart business woman! For example, we had a dressage world cup qualifier at the London International Horse Show in the UK, just before Christmas. Anky was competing & even if she wasn't paying entry & stabling fees, it is still an expensive trip to bring a horse over from Holland. But unlike the other riders, she was doing a masterclass in the interval & had an Anky clothing stand inside the arena hall, in the best trade stand spot at the show! She was signing autographs on her stand (announced over the tannoy just after her test). She got to ride a younger horse in a training seesion in an electric show enviroment (while being paid), gets a great trade stand spot & publicity to direct people to the stand. So no doubt the show was quite profitable for Anky. As I said, quite a business woman :-)

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Permalink Reply by Linda Weldon on March 18, 2008 at 1:05pm

She and Sjef really know how to promote themselves! They also receive huge respect from the media in their home country. Ask most Canadian media about 'dressage' and I'm sure the answer would be 'what?'

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Permalink Reply by Chris - resident queen of shops on March 18, 2008 at 1:12pm

I agree Linda - dressage has a huge PR problem. In the UK at the moment horse sports are getting a bit more coverage because of Zara Phillips as our press loves covering any stories featuring the royal family. Even with someone so high profile, they still get sports mixed up & so many non-horsey journalists feature her as a world champion show-jumper rather than the eventer that she is! At least it's coverage though so can't grumble too much.

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Permalink Reply by Linda Weldon on March 18, 2008 at 4:58pm

We need to breed us some Royal Canadians! lol

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Permalink Reply by Lallanslover on January 17, 2009 at 11:00am

Anky is also one of the best recognised sports personalities in the Netherlands, much like showjumpers used to be household names in the UK years ago (Harvey Smith etc). Equine sports (like other sports) get huge financial backing from the government in many European countries, but especially Germany and The Netherlands. Such sporting heroes get respect and wide acclaim, for representing their country, so can make the most out of marketing and sponsorship opportunities. In the UK, most equine sports personalities have to secure their own financial backing.
Anky is also very savvy, having chosen a sport which is becoming ever more popular in the English speaking world.
"Sportweek", I should point out, is not the equivalent of fortune 500. It's just a large sporting periodical covering all sports...

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